The kuna (; sign: kn; code: HRK) was the currency of Croatia from 1994 until 2023, when it was replaced by the euro. The kuna was subdivided into 100 lipa. It was issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins were minted by the Croatian Mint.
In the Croatian language, the word means and means , both references to their historical use in medieval trading.
History and etymology
Records exist from the Middle Ages of a tax and/or a currency in the then highly valued marten skins, which were recorded as marturina ("marten tax") or kunovina, in Lower Pannonia, modern day Hungary and Slavonia. Slavonia's first minted currency was the frizatik, but in the 13th century the Ban of Slavonia issued a marten-adorned silver coin called the banovac. – Excerpts from the book Kune and lipe – Currency of the Republic of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatian National BankPovijest hrvatskog novca, Section 3 , Croatian National Bank compilation from multiple sources
The idea of a kuna currency reappeared in 1939 when the Banovina of Croatia, an autonomous province established within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, planned to issue its own money, along with the Yugoslav dinar. In 1941, when the Ustaše regime formed the Independent State of Croatia, they used the kuna as its currency. It remained in circulation until 1945, when Croatia became part of SFR Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav dinar became the official currency.
The plural form of kuna in Croatian is kune. It can vary because of different number declension rules (e.g. 2 kune, 10 kuna).
It has no relation to the various Slavic currencies named "koruna" (translated as kruna in Croatian), which means "crown".
Modern currency The modern kuna was introduced on 30 May 1994, starting a period of transition from the Croatian dinar, introduced in 1991, which ended on 31 December 1994.Croatian Government and Croatian National Bank decisions published in Narodne novine 37/94 One kuna was equivalent to 1,000 dinars at a fixed exchange rate. The kuna was pegged to the Deutsche Mark from the start. With the replacement of the mark by the euro, the kuna's peg effectively switched to the euro.
The choice of the name kuna was controversial because the same currency name had been used by the Independent State of Croatia, but this was dismissed as a red herring, since the same name was also in use during the Banovina of Croatia and by the State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia (ZAVNOH). An alternative proposal for the name of the new currency was kruna (crown), divided into 100 banica (viceroy's wife), but this was deemed too similar to the Austro-Hungarian krone and found inappropriate for the country which is a republic, even though Czechia and (until 2008) Slovakia have used currencies whose names translate to "crown".
A long-time policy of the Croatian National Bank was to keep the fluctuations of the kuna's exchange rate against the euro (or, previously, the mark) within a relatively stable range. Since the introduction of the euro in 1999, the exchange rate between the two currencies rarely fluctuated to a substantial degree, remaining at a near constant 7.5:1 (HRK to EUR) rate. Croatia joined the European Union on 1 July 2013 and the Exchange Rate Mechanism on 10 July 2020 at a rate of 7.53450 HRK to €1.
The kuna was replaced by the euro on 1 January 2023 after satisfying prerequisites as the initial time estimate of standard four years after joining the European Union proved too short.
A two-week transition period during which kuna cash remained as legal tender in circulation alongside the euro ended on 14 January. Cash could be exchanged at any Eurozone national central banks until 28 February and at any bank (Fina and Hrvatska pošta in Croatia) until the end of 2023 at no charge. The Croatian National Bank stated that they plan to do the same for notes indefinitely and for coins until the end of 2025.
Coins
In 1994, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 lipa, 1, 2, 5 and 25 kuna. The coins are issued in two versions: one with the name of the plant or animal in Croatian (issued in odd years), the other with the name in Latin (issued in even years). Overall more coins have been minted with Croatian names than with names in Latin.
Lipa is the Croatian word for linden or tilia tree, a species that was traditionally planted around marketplaces in Croatia and other lands under Habsburg monarchy rule during the early modern period.
Due to their low value, 1 and 2 lipa coins were rarely used. Since 2009, these coins were no longer minted, but the Croatian National Bank stated that it had no plans for withdrawing them, and the 1 and 2 lipa coins were still minted as non-circulating, mainly for numismatic collections.
+ Coins intended for circulation In each case, the obverse shows the coat of arms, state title and an indication of value. Value Technical parameters Description Date ofissue In Kuna Equivalent in Euros (€) Diameter Mass Composition Edge Reverse Firstminting 1 lp €0.0013272 17.0 mm 0.70 g Aluminium-Magnesium alloy Smooth Maize, "KUKURUZ" or "ZEA MAYS", year of minting 1993 31 May 1994 2 lp €0.0026545 19.0 mm 0.92 g Aluminium-Magnesium alloy Smooth Grapevine, "VINOVA LOZA" or "VITIS VINIFERA", year of minting 1993 31 May 1994 5 lp €0.006636 18.0 mm 2.50 g Bronze-plated steel Smooth European oak branch, "HRAST LUŽNJAK" or "QUERCUS ROBUR", year of minting 1993 31 May 1994 10 lp €0.013272 20.0 mm 3.25 g Bronze-plated steel Smooth Tobacco plant, "DUHAN" or "NICOTIANA TABACUM", year of minting 1993 31 May 1994 20 lp €0.026545 18.5 mm 2.90 g Nickel-plated steel Smooth Olive branch, "MASLINA" or "OLEA EUROPAEA", year of minting 1993 31 May 1994 50 lp €0.06636 20.5 mm 3.65 g Degenia, "VELEBITSKA DEGENIJA" or "DEGENIA VELEBITICA", year of minting 1 kn €0.13272 22.5 mm 5.00 g Nickel-brass Milled Nightingale, "SLAVUJ" or "LUSCINIA MEGARHYNCHOS", year of minting 2 kn €0.26545 24.5 mm 6.20 g Atlantic bluefin tuna, "TUNJ" or "THUNNUS THYNNUS", year of minting 5 kn €0.6636 26.5 mm 7.45 g Brown bear, "MRKI MEDVJED" or "URSUS ARCTOS", year of minting
Commemorative coins
Commemorative coins of the Croatian were issued between 1995 and 2022.
Denomination Obverse Design Date of issue Quantity 1 lipa Maize with inscriptions FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), 1945 (year of FAO founding), 1995 (50th anniversary of FAO and issue year of coin) and fiat panis (Latin expression for "Let there be bread!") 15 July 1995 1,000,000 2 lipe Emblem of the Croatian Olympic Committee with inscriptions 1996 (Olympic Games year and issue year of coin), Atlanta (host city of the 1996 Olympic Games) and Olimpijske igre (Croatian for Olympic Games) 1 July 1996 5 lipa 900,000 10 lipa Emblem of the United Nations with inscriptions Organizacija ujedinjenih naroda (Croatian for United Nations Organization), 1945 (founding year of United Nations), and 1995 (50th anniversary of United Nations and issue year of coin) 20 lipa Olive with inscriptions FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), 1945 (year of FAO founding), 1995 (50th anniversary of FAO and issue year of coin) and fiat panis (Latin expression for "Let there be bread!") 15 July 1995 1,000,000 50 lipa Emblem of the Croatian Football Federation with inscriptions Europsko nogometno prvenstvo (Croatian for European Football Championship), Engleska (Croatian for England), and 1996 (European Championship year and issue year of coin) 12 June 1996 900,000 1 kuna Emblem of the Croatian Olympic Committee with inscriptions 1996 (Olympic Games year and issue year of coin), Atlanta (host city of the 1996 Olympic Games) and Olimpijske igre (Croatian for Olympic Games) 1 July 1996 1,000,000 2 kune Tuna with inscriptions FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), 1945 (year of FAO founding), 1995 (50th anniversary of FAO and issue year of coin) and fiat panis (Latin expression for "Let there be bread!") 15 July 1995 500,000 5 kuna Images commemorating the 500th anniversary of the printing of the Breviary of Senj in 1494 1,000,000 25 kuna Marking the completion of the peaceful reintegration the Republic of Croatia territory under the temporary administration of UNTAES 28 May 1997 300,000 Holding of the first Croatian Esperanto Congress, in Zagreb, on 31 May and 1 June 1997 24 June 1997 Marking the 5th anniversary (1992–1997) of the admission of the Republic of Croatia, as an independent and recognised state, into the United Nations Organisation 27 October 1997 Holding of the EXPO, the Lisbon World Exposition, with Croatia as first-time participant 26 June 1998 The introduction of the new monetary unit, the euro, in eleven European Union Member States 29 December 1999 Marking the year 2000, "the Millennium Year" 27 November 2000 The 10th anniversary of the international recognition of the Republic of Croatia, 15 January 1992 – 15 January 2002 4 August 2005 200,000 The Republic of Croatia becoming an EU membership candidate, 18 June 2004 30,000 The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Annual Meeting, Zagreb, 14 and 15 May 2010 12 May 2010 20,000 Signing the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union, 9 December 2011 3 December 2012 The Republic of Croatia becoming a full member of the European Union, 1 July 2013 1 July 2013 The 25th anniversary of independence of the Republic of Croatia, 8 October 1991 – 8 October 2016 7 October 2016 50,000 The 25th anniversary of the admission of the Republic of Croatia to membership in the United Nations 22 May 2017 20,000 The 25th anniversary of the introduction of the kuna as the monetary unit of the Republic of Croatia, 30 May 1994 – 30 May 2019 30 May 2019 30,000 The 350th anniversary of the founding of the University of Zagreb, 1669 − 2019 4 November 2019 20,000 The Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2020 15 January 2020 30,000 The 75th anniversary of the founding of the Croatian Association of Technical Culture, 1946 – 2021 23 June 2021 50,000 Marking World Children's Day, 20 November 2021 19 November 2021 Marking the opening of the Pelješac Bridge for traffic and road connections in the territory of the Republic of Croatia 26 July 2022 30,000
Banknotes The notes were designed by Miroslav Šutej and , and all feature prominent Croatians on front and architectural motifs on back. The geometric figures at lower left on front (except the 5-kuna note) are intaglio printed for recognition by the blind people. To the right of the coat of arms on front is a microprinted version of the Croatian national anthem, Lijepa naša domovino (Our Beautiful Homeland). The overall design is reminiscent of Deutsche Mark banknotes of the fourth series.
The first series of notes was dated 31 October 1993. The 5, 10 and 20 kuna notes from this series were withdrawn on 1 April 2007, and the 50, 100 and 200 kuna notes were withdrawn on 1 January 2010, but remain exchangeable at the HNB in Zagreb.
New series of notes with tweaked, but similar designs and improved security features were released in 2001, 2004, 2012 and 2014.